1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to self-locking mounting bolt systems for mounting shelf boards to side walls of a type employed in furniture, as well as mounting bolts employed in such systems. More particularly, the invention relates to improved self-locking mounting bolt systems which provide for quick and simple assembly and disassembly in the field of various articles of furniture.
2. Description of Prior Art
In a typical mounting dowel system for use with furniture, a plurality of pins are utilized to mount shelf boards to side walls. As is well known in the art, the pins are driven into an end surface of each shelf board or side wall to fit into holes in an abutting side wall or shelf board, respectively, to prevent motion or slipping.
FIG. 1 is a fragumentary, exploded perspective view of an article of furniture such as a chest of drawers. It includes a pair of spaced, generally parallel side walls 10 (only one is shown), and a plurality of horizontal plates including a top plate 12 and two shelf boards 14. Each side wall 10 has two dowel pins 16 projecting from its end surface 18, the pins being generally cylindrical. The pins 16 have root portions received in holes formed in the upper end of the side wall 10. The depth of the holes is generally equal to about a half length of the pins 16. The top plate 12 has a pair of recesses 20 formed in the lower surface thereof, and their depth is also equal to about a half length of the pins 16. The pins 16 are adapted to fit into the complementary recesses 20 in the abutting top plate 12 after application of an adhesive material onto the end surface and the pins.
In a like manner, each shelf board 14 has four pins 24 projecting from an end surface 26 thereof. The pins 24 are adapted to be received in complementary recesses 28 formed in the abutting side wall 10.
Although not shown, it will be appreciated that another conventional method of connecting adjacent plate members together involves the use of studs and nuts. As is well known, a stud, which projects from an end surface of a plate member, is passed through a hole in an abutting plate member, followed by placing and tightening a nut on the stud to secure the abutting plate members.
In the mounting dowel systems, while plates can be successfully rigidized through dowels, it would be impossible to detach the plates in a non-destructive manner in order to disassemble the furniture for later transport and/or reassembly, because an adhesive material is usually applied to the dowels before attachment of the abutting plates.
In recent years there has been an increase in popularity of the concept of manufacturing furniture in a form that permits quick and simple assembly and disassembly in the field. This is partly because of the fact that there are still many multiple dwelling houses in Japan, such as apartments and condominiums, that do not have entrances, corridors, elevator cars, doors, etc. of sufficient widths and heights to allow assembled furniture to pass therethrough into individual rooms. Most of the manufacturers of this type of furniture ship their products to customers in disassembled form and reassemble the furniture in the field.
Additionally, in shipping their products, most manufacturers of furniture, whether of conventional type or of the above-described type, generally use truck services for transport to their customers. However, if the furniture is shipped in assembled form, its bulkiness requires a greater loading space as compared with its weight, resulting in extremely low transport efficiency. Also, a greater storage space is required if the furniture is stored in assembled form.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide improved self-locking mounting bolt systems for use in connecting various plates of a type employed in furniture assembly.
It is another object of this invention to provide improved self-locking mounting bolt systems for use in mounting shelf boards to side walls that provide for quick and simple assembly and disassembly of furniture in the field.
It is a further object of this invention to provide improved self-locking mounting bolt systems which provide for rigidized right angle interconnection of component plates of a type emplyed in furniture.